My kids are heavily into this cartoon called Avatar: The Last Airbender. Uh, well...okay, I'm really into it too. I'm trying hard to resist my impulse to explain the show and justify my watching a kid's cartoon, but let me just say--it has excellent female characters. Any father of young girls knows how scarce good role models can be in pop culture.
So when Eden's birthday rolled around, I thought I'd check and see if I could find a Katara doll. Katara is Eden's favorite. She's a "water bender" and becomes a kick ass fighter, but she's also a healer and has a strongly nurturing persona. Kind, yet feisty. You gotta love her. She's one of the main (human) characters and has been in all 40 (so far) episodes.
I was pleased to discover that Avatar 'action figures' were available. They even have relatively obscure characters that only appear in a few shows. But no Katara doll. I was shocked! Actually, they have no female characters at all. Hmmmm. I'm not the only one appalled by this, I was able to sign an on-line petition to Mattel and Nickelodean demanding a Katara doll.
With some misgivings I ventured into the bowels of ToysRUs to buy Eden an Aang doll (made in China by political prisoners. It was only $6!) Aang is great too, but clearly second choice.
In ToysRUs I discovered that toys these days are pretty much segregated. The boys have action figures focused primarily on war, death, combat, weapons and chaos. Girls get puffy pink ponies, fake makeup and dolls dressed like hookers.
Katara clearly doesn't fit either aisle. Though for that matter, neither does Aang. I hope they can team up to somehow defeat the sexist forces of corporate America and bring some much needed balance to the psyches of children everywhere.
In the meantime, Krista is planning to make Eden a Katara doll out of felt.
If you'd like to watch the show, here's a link.
I recommend starting with the first episode, although in episode 2x19 The Guru, Aang is given a great explanation of the chakras and how to open them!
BATTLE ON, Katara! Equal toys for girls!
4 comments:
I LOVE AVATAR! my fav. element is water, so yeah, go katara!!!
Hey :D
Nice entry, i'm just about to have my first child and will definitely be introducing her to avatar when she's old enough. I agree wholeheartedly about the female characters in this show (good strong heroes and villains!).
Anyway, you should post a picture of the katara doll in this thread when/if it gets made. I'd like to see it.
Luke
our four year old and my hubby and i love love love this show too. was trying to find katara and the other characters for my son's cake. it is a bummer that there is no katara figure. :(
Our 4 year-old daughter loves Avatar. And so do we. Was just embarking on a search for toys when I found your post. Had no idea my search for Katara would be fruitless. Rats! -Jen in Belgium
Post a Comment